Summer road projects to watch out for

WSIL -- With the summer months fast approaching, more people will be hitting the roads across Illinois. But with the Sunshine and warmer temperatures comes road crews making improvements and repairs.

"The big projects are completed and we're more or less moving into a maintenance type phase of what we're doing," said Doug Helfrich, construction engineer with the Illinois Department of Transportation.

He says there's unlikely to be the amount of roadwork Southern Illinois drivers are used to, but there are still a few major projects to keep your eyes on.

On Interstate 57 in Union County, just south of the 146 interchange, northbound traffic has been shifted to the southbound lanes for construction of a new bridge.

Due to the work, there is one lane of traffic in each direction, and construction is expected to last until mid-November.

Also on I-57, there will be night work throughout Franklin county in both the northbound and southbound directions in order to patch and pave parts of the road.

Helfrich says during the winter months, the stretch developed cracks and potholes that need to be repaired.

"Had some weak pavement out there and it kind of really showed up this spring," Helfrich said.

In Jackson County, part of Route 13 between Carbondale and Murphysboro will be one lane in each direction as IDOT removes bridges from an unused railroad.

That work is expected to be completed by mid July.

And in Williamson County, IDOT will be resurfacing Route 148 between 1-57 and Old Route 13.

During the work part of the road will be cut down to a single lane, so plan a little extra time out.

The project is expected to be finished in October.

Helfrich adds that if you come across construction while on the road, slow down and pay attention to keep the backups to a minimum and ensure everyone gets home safely.

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Carbondale Police are investigating a deadly accident that happened in the 500 block of North Wall around 8 p.m. Monday evening. Witnesses and family members tell us a driver hit and killed a five-year-old boy. Police expect to release more information Tuesday.

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Carbondale Police are investigating a deadly accident that happened in the 500 block of North Wall around 8 p.m. Monday evening. Witnesses and family members tell us a driver hit and killed a five-year-old boy. Police expect to release more information Tuesday.

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